Virulence
} | name = Virulence | gameimage = VirulenceIcon.png | cardimage = Virulence.png | hotkey = 1 | energy = 40 | description = Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. For every five enemies hit, the Infestation mutates, multiplying its destructive force. | strength = 150 / 160 / 175 / 200 (damage) | duration = | range = 10 / 11 / 13 / 16 m | misc = 4 m (fungal growth width) 25% (energy refund rate per hit) | info = *Nidus ruptures the ground to unleash a linear growth of fungal infestation 10 / 11 / 13 / 16 meters long and 4''' meters wide toward the targeted location. Enemies struck by fungal growth are staggered, dealt '''150 / 160 / 175 / 200 base damage amplified by the number of Mutation stacks accumulated, as well as refunding energy to Nidus for each enemy hit. **Damage is affected by Ability Strength. **Enemies hit by Virulence contribute to Nidus' Mutation gauge. **Damage is split between , , and damage types. **Virulence's total damage uses the following expression when accounting for Ability Strength and Mutation stacks: **: Base Damage (1 + Ability Strength rank bonus + Ability Strength) (1 + Number of Stacks)}} ***With a maxed , 15% Ability Strength rank bonus, and 100 stacks, rank-3 Virulence's total damage will be increased to: ***: (1 + 0.15 + 0.3) (1 + 100)|mt=y}} damage (decimals are rounded down to the nearest whole number during calculations). **Energy refund is inversely affected by Ability Efficiency because it is always 25% of energy used to cast, per enemy. **Fungal growth length is affected by Ability Range, while width is not. ***Longer lengths will cover more ground faster, such that the casting time is very similar at all ranges. Negative ranges are slightly faster to cast. *'Ability Synergy:' **While Nidus is connected to a target via , using Virulence will spawn a second instance from the linked target that grows toward the targeted location, converging with the first instance from Nidus. ***Enemies hit by the second instance separately counts toward Mutation stack, even when the same enemies also get hit by the first instance. **Maggots spawned from will detonate when hit by Virulence. ***This helps maximizing damage output and Mutation gained as Maggots will respawn throughout the duration of Ravenous. ***Virulence will not detonate maggots spawned by the Strain Mod Set or the . *Holding the ability key displays a rectangular range indicator on the horizontal plane in front of Nidus. Releasing the key casts Virulence. Range indicator color is affected by the chosen energy color. **Player can move the aiming reticle while holding down the button to aim Virulence at the desired direction. **While held, the player can still perform other actions such as moving, jumping, firing weapons, and casting other abilities. Releasing the key while in midair will exit range indicator mode without casting Virulence. **While connected via Parasitic Link, a second range indicator visible to Nidus only will also appear around the linked target. **While held, Maggots from Ravenous will be marked on the HUD, allowing increased visibility for selective detonation using Virulence. *Virulence will cast toward the targeted location regardless of Nidus' orientation. *If cast in midair, Nidus will instantly drop to the ground to perform this ability. *Cannot be recast until the fungal growth's maximum length is reached or until it cannot spawn any further due to obstruction. Therefore, and only affect the speed of Nidus' stomping animation. *Virulence does not spawn up or down high terrain elevations, but does flow up and down stairs and ramps. | stance = | augment = | tips = *Can stagger enemies to help keep them in place for recasts. *Can completely refund its cost when it hits at least 4 targets. 5 or more targets allow Nidus to earn extra energy. **Due to the refund per hit always being kept at 1/4th the ability's cost, negative efficiency can be used to gain more energy over 4 hits at the cost of a higher initial cast cost. *Collect Mutation stacks to amplify Virulence's damage drastically over the course of a mission. *Hold the ability key to line up Virulence on groups of enemies before releasing to cast. This is an efficient method to gather extra energy and collect hits for stacks. Jump and release the ability key to toggle off the range indicator without casting the ability. *Use Larva to gather enemies in one spot, then unleash Virulence to optimize damage and stack collection. *Casting Virulence while Parasitic Link is active allows both Nidus and the linked target to create a line of fungal growths from your positions toward where you aim. This allows Nidus to effectively extend his reach on Virulence, and collect double hits for stacks if both lines hit the same enemies. Hold the ability key to help determine where you and your linked targets' lines will spawn. *Can detonate Maggots spawned from Ravenous by you and any Nidus players in your squad. Hits from both the fungal growth and maggot explosion each count toward the Mutation gauge. Blow up anyone's Maggots to help you and your brethren gather more stacks quickly! *If the fungal growth cannot spawn any further because of obstruction, you can immediately recast Virulence. **Since the speed of fungal growth increases with length, having a high Ability Range means the growth will hit the obstruction faster, allowing for much faster recasting. |max = | bugs = }} See Also * de:Virulenz es:Voracidad it:Virulence Category:Nidus